Can you imagine regaining a vision comparable to that of the one you had during your youth? Turning back the hands of time is now possible through Cataract surgery! In fact, surgery dramatically improves eyesight in 95% of patients, irrespective of age. Cataract removal is one of the safest, most effective and most common surgical procedures.

WHAT IS A CATARACT?

A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye that affects vision. Most cataracts are related to aging. By age 80, more than half of all North Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery! A cataract can occur in one or both eyes.

CATARACT SYMPTOMS

Because cataract is a condition that worsens over time, so do its symptoms. The most common symptoms of a cataract are:

These symptoms also can be a sign of other eye problems. If you have any of these symptoms, it is recommended that you consult your ophthalmologist.

As the cataract worsens, it prevents light from properly focusing on the retina, the light sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. Early lens changes or opacities may not disturb vision significantly.

Blurring of the Vision

Glare and Light Sensitivity

Yellowing of the Vision

Ghosting / Double Vision

Clear Vision After Cataract Surgery

How does the lens of the eye change with age?
The lens loses its clarity as well as its focusing power. The lens of the eye is as clear as water when we're young. It's also very flexible and is able to accommodate a great amount. Every year the lens becomes slightly cloudier (like adding a drop of muddy water to a glass of water) and the lens becomes less elastic and some of its near focusing ability is lost. After age 40, as we progressively lose the near focusing ability due to presbyopia, we tend to hold things further away in order to read them.
Other more complex changes happen as well as the human lens hardens and ages, such as an increase in spherical aberration and other distortions, with a resultant decrease in the image quality.

At what point do I need cataract surgery?
There is no single objective test to determine the need for cataract surgery. The final decision for cataract surgery is made by the patient and depends on how much the decreased vision from the cataract is bothersome. Doing cataract surgery at an earlier stage makes for a quicker recovery and a technically easier surgery. Waiting until the vision is very poor can often make the surgery and the recovery more involved. Similarly, Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) surgery is scheduled when the patient would like better vision and less dependence on glasses.

A TEN MINUTE PROCEDURE…

Step 1 – Pioneered by CATARACT MD surgeons, the latest anesthesia techniques use drops and gel to freeze the eye. The use of needles is not required. The surgeon then enters the front part of the eye through a microscopic incision in the cornea measuring only 1/10 inch. This incision is self-healing and does not require stitches.

Step 2 – Our surgeons use state-of-the-art ultrasound technology to remove the lens of the eye. Through this specialized and precise instrument, called a phacoemulsifier, the cataract (i.e. the cloudy lens) is then removed.

Step 3 – The cataract lens is then replaced with a new foldable artificial lens.

Step 4 - The new lens unfolds and takes the place of the natural lens, for an easy and smooth transition. Within minutes, natural forces seal the microincision in the cornea. The procedure is completed, with no stitches required, allowing for a speedy self-healing process. The procedure generally requires ten minutes of operating room time.

RESULTS FOLLOWING CATARACT SURGERY A CLEAR Difference! The once cloudy lens that caused faded or blurry vision is now replaced with a clear lens restoring the patient's vision.